When it's raining outside, the balcony is damp, and there's no dryer, laundry can take a day or longer to dry. The worst part is that during this time, things don't just stay wet: the humidity in the room increases, the fabric may smell damp, and condensation may form on the windows and walls.
Points of attention
- The Japanese method of drying clothes in rainy weather allows you to speed up the drying process by properly hanging clothes on the dryer.
- Using a fan or dehumidifier can greatly facilitate the process of drying laundry indoors and reduce the risk of a damp smell.
- Drying laundry indoors increases humidity, so it is important to place items in the dryer correctly and ventilate the room regularly.
One of the easiest ways to speed up drying is the so-called Japanese method, or “arch drying.” Its essence lies in the correct placement of items on the dryer: longer and heavier items are hung at the edges, shorter ones closer to the center. This creates free space between the fabrics, air passes through the dryer better, and moisture evaporates faster.
Panasonic Japan recommends leaving space between items, creating an “arch” with long items at the edges and shorter items inside, and drying clothes in a way that allows the fabric to have better contact with the air. This is not magic or a marketing gimmick, but simple physics: items dry faster when there is drier air moving around them.
Why does it take a long time for clothes to dry in rainy weather?
Drying is the evaporation of water from fabric. For this to happen quickly, three conditions are needed: air movement, moderate heat, and the ability to remove excess moisture from the room. During rain, the air is more humid, the windows are often closed, and the dryer is placed in a corner with little circulation. In such conditions, the water from the fabric evaporates slowly and is trapped in the room.
If you hang your laundry too tightly, air can't get through the layers of fabric. Towels, jeans, hoodies, and sweaters cover thinner items, causing moisture to build up inside the dryer, and areas of the clothes will remain damp even when the edges are almost dry.
The Energy Saving Trust explains that drying clothes indoors increases the amount of moisture in the home, so if there is excessive humidity, it is worth improving ventilation or using a dehumidifier. That is why quick drying is not only about convenience, but also about the microclimate in the apartment.
Japanese method: how to hang things correctly
The Japanese method is often called “arched” because of the shape of the bottom edge of the laundry in the dryer. When viewed from the side, long items on the edges hang lower, while shorter items in the center hang higher. This leaves a cavity under the short items for air to move through.
The practical scheme is as follows:
Place the longest items on the edges of the dryer: pants, towels, dresses, long T-shirts.
Hang medium-length items closer to the center: shirts, T-shirts, light sweaters.
Leave the shortest items in the center: underwear, socks, children's clothes, small napkins.
Don't press things against each other.
Alternate thick fabrics with thin ones.
Leave space for air circulation.
Arrange items with pockets, hoods, and thick seams so that these areas are not pinched.
Japanese publication Kufura describes “arch drying” as a method in which long items are placed on the outside and shorter items on the inside to create space for air and speed up drying.
Why the method works
Clothes don’t dry slowly because they “don’t have enough sun.” More often, they don’t have enough air. When fabric is hung tightly, moisture evaporates but remains near the surface of the garment. If air doesn’t move, it quickly becomes damp and stops effectively drawing water from the fabric.
The arched arrangement creates channels for air movement. Long items at the edges get more contact with the room air, while short items in the center don't block the dryer's interior. Adding a fan or dehumidifier can make the effect even more noticeable.
It is important to understand: the method will not “dry clothes in 30 minutes” without heat, spinning, and ventilation. But it does eliminate one of the main mistakes — chaotic and dense hanging of clothes.
Where to put a dryer in an apartment
Don't place your dryer in the coldest corner, right next to a wet window or close to a wall. The air movement is poorer there, and condensation forms more quickly. It's better to choose a location where there is at least some circulation: near a doorway, in a ventilated room, next to a range hood, or somewhere where you can safely place a fan.
The Energy Saving Trust advises opening windows several times a day for at least five minutes, using exhaust fans after showering or cooking, and ensuring air movement between rooms to reduce humidity.
Bad places for drying:
a small room with a closed door;
a bedroom at night without ventilation;
cold corner near the outer wall;
a place close to a closet or sofa;
bathtub without hood;
the area near the window where there is already condensation;
kitchen during active cooking without a hood.
It is best to place the dryer so that air can circulate around it from several sides. If the room is small, leave the door ajar or ventilate it periodically.
Fan: A cheap way to speed up drying
The fan does not heat the air, but it helps it move. This is very important for drying. The air flow removes moisture from the surface of the fabric and prevents it from stagnating between the items.
You don't need to point the fan directly at a single T-shirt. It's better to place it at a distance, turn on the low or medium setting, and direct the flow so that the air passes through the dryer. If there is a rotation setting, use it: this way the clothes dry more evenly.
The EPA's recommendations for controlling humidity include increasing ventilation or air movement, including opening doors and windows when practical and using fans as needed.
The fan is especially useful for:
towels;
jeans;
skinny;
bed linen;
children's things;
drying in a small apartment;
situations when it is raining outside and there is no sun.
Dehumidifier: when you really need it
If you regularly dry clothes in your apartment, but water appears on the windows, dark spots appear in the corners, or the room feels damp, proper hanging may not be enough. In such a situation, a dehumidifier can help.
A dehumidifier removes excess moisture from the air in your home. This helps your laundry dry faster and reduces the risk of condensation. The Energy Saving Trust specifically recommends considering a dehumidifier if you need to combat excess moisture or help with drying laundry indoors.
To dry clothes, it is better to close the door to the room where the dehumidifier is operating, but do not turn the space into a damp, closed “bag”. The dehumidifier should be selected according to the area, and the tank should be emptied regularly. If the device has a laundry drying mode, you can use it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Why do things smell damp?
A musty smell occurs when clothes are left damp for a long time. This can happen after washing, if the clothes are left in the drum for several hours, hung too tightly, or dried in a room with no air movement.
The problem is exacerbated by:
overloaded washing machine;
too short a wash for very dirty items;
excess detergent;
poor rinsing;
dirty drum or seal;
low spin;
drying in a cold, closed room;
thick fabrics folded in several layers.
The American Cleaning Institute lists common laundry problems as overloading the washer or dryer, not rinsing enough, detergent residue, lint, overdrying, and improper sorting. Time is key to damp odor: the longer a fabric is wet, the higher the risk of odor.
If the item already smells, it is better not to mask the smell with air conditioner, but to wash it, wring it out well, and dry it under conditions of normal air circulation.
How to prepare clothes for drying while washing
Quick drying starts before you hang your laundry. If your laundry is poorly wrung out, over-wetted, or clumped together, it will take longer to dry.
What to do:
Do not overload the drum.
Choose the spin speed allowed by the garment label.
For towels and bedding, use a higher spin speed if the fabric can handle it.
Wring out delicate items more carefully, but do not leave them in wet lumps.
Remove the laundry from the drum immediately after washing.
Shake each item before hanging.
Straighten seams, pockets, cuffs, and hoods.
Do not dry items folded in half if they are thick.
ACI advises choosing the appropriate washing and drying modes according to the labels, and not leaving clothes unattended after washing. If the fabric allows, an additional spin can significantly reduce drying time.
How to dry different things
Towels
Towels take a long time to dry because they hold a lot of water. It is best to hang them on the edges of the dryer or on a separate bar, not folded in half or pressed against other items. If the towel is large, you can throw it over two bars to leave space between the layers.
Jeans and pants
Jeans should be shaken well, pockets and waistband should be straightened. Seams, pockets and waistband area dry the slowest. It is better to hang the pants by the waistband or bottom so that the legs do not stick together. If the fabric is dense, turn the item inside out after a few hours.
Hoodies and sweaters
The hood is one of the most problematic areas. If it lies on the back of the hoodie, the fabric underneath remains wet for a long time. The hood should be straightened separately or hung so that air can pass through on both sides. Sweaters made of wool or delicate knitwear should not be hung on thin hangers: they can stretch. It is better to dry them horizontally on a towel or mesh surface.
Shirts and blouses
It is convenient to dry shirts on the hangers. Unbutton them, straighten the collar, cuffs and placket. This way the fabric has better contact with air and wrinkles less.
Bedclothes
Sheets and duvet covers should not be folded in many layers. If space is limited, it is better to throw the fabric over several slats or periodically change its position. The duvet cover should be spread out so that there is no “pocket” of moist air inside.
Is it possible to dry things on a battery?
Drying on a radiator may seem like a quick solution, but it has its drawbacks. The fabric can dry out, become deformed, get wrinkles or yellow marks. In addition, a large number of wet clothes on a radiator dramatically increases the humidity in the room and worsens the circulation of heat.
If there is no other option, do not cover the radiator completely. It is better to place the dryer nearby, but not directly in front of it, and ensure ventilation. Do not dry wool, delicate knitwear, items with elastane, membranes, silk, shoes, and clothes with prints on a hot radiator.
The Energy Saving Trust notes that underheated rooms are prone to dampness in the cold season, but keeping the heating on all the time just to combat damp is not a smart solution due to energy costs; it is important to combine heating with ventilation and moisture control.
How to dry clothes without a dryer
If you don't have a dryer, the main thing is not to stack wet clothes on the back of a chair, a door, or in a pile on a radiator. You need to create space and air movement.
Best order:
It's good to squeeze things out.
Shake and straighten.
Hang it using the Japanese method.
Place thick items at the edges.
Leave gaps between the fabrics.
Turn on the fan or dehumidifier.
Ventilate the room in short sessions.
After a few hours, turn the thickest items over.
Do not put clothes in the closet until they are completely dry.
If you have a lot of clothes, it's best to dry them in two batches. An overcrowded dryer will almost always lose to a smaller load with regular intervals.
Dry towel trick in the dryer
If you have a dryer, you can use a clean, dry towel to partially absorb moisture at the beginning of the cycle. It helps to remove some of the water from wet items, but it should not be left in the drum until the end if it has become damp itself.
The American Cleaning Institute recommends reducing drying times and removing items while they still have a little moisture left in them to avoid overdrying, wrinkling, and shrinkage. This is especially important for cotton knits, synthetics, and items that deform easily.
Don't dry everything in the dryer at once. Always check the label: some items are not machine-safe or require a low temperature.
Humidity, condensation and mold
Drying laundry indoors adds moisture to the air. If this moisture doesn't escape, it settles on cold surfaces: windows, corners, exterior walls, slopes, behind furniture. Over time, this can create conditions for mold.
The EPA recommends keeping indoor relative humidity below 60%, ideally between 30% and 50%, using dehumidifiers or air conditioners as needed, and increasing ventilation or air movement. The CDC also notes that mold thrives in areas with excessive moisture, and recommends keeping indoor humidity below 50% during the day to prevent mold.
Signs that drying laundry is harmful to the microclimate:
water regularly appears on the windows;
things dry for more than a day;
the room smells damp;
dark spots appear on slopes or walls;
It's cold and damp behind the cupboards;
towels smell musty after drying;
The bed linen feels damp to the touch.
In this case, you need to change not only the hanging method, but also the ventilation, temperature, drying location, or add a dehumidifier.
Why you shouldn't dry laundry in the bedroom
Drying clothes in the bedroom is only possible if there is good ventilation and a moderate amount of laundry. But leaving a dryer full of wet clothes in a small room overnight with the door closed is a bad idea. At night, people also release moisture when they breathe, so the overall humidity can increase significantly.
NICE, in its recommendations on indoor air quality, advises avoiding activities that create excess moisture indoors, such as drying clothes inside, where possible; if this cannot be avoided, ventilation should be improved.
It is best to dry your laundry in a room that can be ventilated, or in a bathroom with an extractor fan if it is effective in removing moisture. If there is no other place, do not close the bedroom completely and monitor the humidity with a hygrometer.
How to avoid the smell of dampness after drying
Damp smells are easier to prevent than to remove. They often arise from a combination of three factors: things were not clean enough, they were left wet for a long time, and they dried slowly without air.
What helps:
do not leave laundry in the machine after the cycle is complete;
do not overload the drum;
correctly dose the detergent;
wash towels and sportswear separately;
regularly clean the seal and the washing machine tray;
wring things out well;
dry at intervals;
use a fan or dehumidifier;
Do not put slightly damp items in the closet.
If the smell is already there, check the washing machine first. Sometimes the problem is not the drying, but a dirty seal, detergent residue, mold in the tray, or constant washing at low temperatures.
How to dry clothes in a small apartment
In a small apartment, the main problem is the lack of space. Because of this, things are often hung too tightly, the dryer is in the corner, and the windows remain closed. In such a situation, the Japanese method is especially useful, but it must be combined with the organization of the space.
Practical solutions:
use a vertical dryer with multiple levels;
do not drape all levels tightly;
Dry heavy items separately;
Hang shirts and T-shirts on hangers;
Place underwear and socks in the center;
Dry the bedding in a separate batch;
do not place the dryer close to the wall;
use the fan on low mode;
open the window briefly but regularly;
monitor humidity with a hygrometer.
If you have a lot of laundry to do, it's best to do smaller loads more frequently. One fully loaded dryer will dry more slowly and smell more often than two smaller loads at regular intervals.
What to do with things that take the longest to dry
Places where the fabric is thick or folded in several layers take the longest to dry: jeans waistbands, pockets, cuffs, collars, hoods, towel seams, elastics on sportswear. They need to be spread out and exposed to air.
Useful techniques:
turn the jeans inside out after a few hours of drying;
spread the pockets outwards;
lift the hood with a separate clothespin;
dry thick towels on two bars;
do not put sleeves on the body of the item;
do not dry skinny jeans under other clothes;
use shirt hangers;
Dry knitwear horizontally if it can be stretched.
If a thick item remains damp in one spot, don’t put it in the closet. It’s these “almost dry” items that often start to smell after a day.
Common mistakes when drying in rainy weather
The first mistake is to hang things chaotically and tightly. This prevents air from passing between the fabrics.
The second mistake is to place the dryer in a corner near a cold wall. Moisture often stagnates there.
The third mistake is to dry a full load in a small room without ventilation. This increases the risk of condensation and odor.
The fourth mistake is leaving wet clothes in the washing machine. Even the best hanging clothes out doesn't make up for a few hours in a damp drum.
The fifth mistake is to dry delicate knitwear vertically. The weight of the water can stretch the item.
The sixth mistake is putting clothes in the closet when they are still slightly damp. In a closed space, odors develop quickly.
The seventh mistake is to mask the smell with air conditioner. If the fabric smells damp, it needs to be washed and dried properly.
Quick drying short circuit
To dry things faster in the rain, do the following:
Choose the correct spin speed according to the label.
Remove the items from the machine immediately.
Shake each item well.
Hang clothes the Japanese way: long items at the edges, short items in the center.
Leave spaces between things.
Straighten pockets, hoods, cuffs, and seams.
Place the dryer in a place with air movement, not in a corner.
Turn on a fan or dehumidifier.
Ventilate the room in short sessions.
Check thick items before putting them in the closet.
Conclusion
The Japanese method of drying clothes in rainy weather works thanks to proper air circulation. Long items should be hung on the edges of the dryer, shorter items closer to the center, leaving space inside. This way, moisture is removed from the fabric faster and the items dry more evenly.
But the hanging method alone won't solve everything. To prevent your laundry from smelling damp and increasing humidity in your apartment, it's important to wring out your clothes well, not overload your dryer, place it in a well-ventilated area, use a fan or dehumidifier, and avoid putting even slightly damp clothes in the closet.
The best result is achieved by a system: proper washing, arched hanging, air movement, humidity control, and timely ventilation. In rainy weather, this is much more reliable than waiting for the sun or drying things in a pile on a radiator.
FAQ
What is the Japanese method of drying clothes?
This is a way of hanging clothes on a dryer in an arch shape: long and heavier items are hung on the edges, and shorter items are hung closer to the center. This leaves space inside the dryer for air to circulate, and clothes dry faster.
How to quickly dry clothes in rainy weather without a dryer?
It is good to wring out the clothes, immediately take them out of the washing machine, shake them out, hang them at intervals using the Japanese method, place the dryer in a ventilated place, and turn on the fan or dehumidifier.
Where is the best place to dry things in an apartment?
In a well-ventilated room with air movement. Do not place the dryer in a cold corner, close to a wall, near a damp window or in a small, closed room without ventilation. The Energy Saving Trust advises improving ventilation if drying indoors is unavoidable.
Does a fan help dry clothes?
Yes. A fan moves air between items and helps moisture evaporate from the fabric more quickly. The EPA recommends increasing ventilation or air movement to reduce moisture and condensation in the room.
Is it safe to dry laundry in the room?
Yes, if the room is ventilated, the humidity does not rise excessively, and things do not dry for several days. If condensation appears on the windows, the room smells damp or there is mold, you need to change the drying method and control the humidity.
What should the humidity be in the apartment?
The EPA recommends keeping relative humidity below 60%, ideally between 30% and 50%. The CDC recommends keeping the humidity in your home below 50% during the day to reduce the risk of mold growth.
Why do things smell damp after drying?
Most often, it is because they have been left damp for a long time: they have been lying in the drum after washing, they have been hung tightly or they have been dried in a room without ventilation. The cause can also be a dirty washing machine, excess detergent or poor rinsing.
Can I dry clothes on a battery?
It is possible to occasionally, but it is undesirable to cover the battery with a large number of wet clothes. This increases humidity, impairs heat circulation and can damage delicate fabrics. It is better to place the dryer near the heat source, but not right next to it, and ventilate the room.
How to dry jeans, hoodies and towels faster?
Straighten pockets, belts, cuffs and hoods, do not fold thick items in half, hang them on the edges of the dryer, leave gaps and change positions after a few hours. For towels, it is better to use two bars to allow air to pass between the layers.
Do I need a dehumidifier to dry clothes?
A dehumidifier is useful if your home frequently dries out, there is condensation on the windows, the room is damp or there is a risk of mould. The Energy Saving Trust advises considering a dehumidifier as a way to combat excess moisture and help dry laundry indoors.
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